
More than at any time in history, religion today is a dialogue, inviting – or inciting – questioning and discussion from and amongst educated people.
As with many other parts of our lives, new generations entering adulthood are shaking things up within their religious traditions, making them their own and helping to shape the future of their religious communities. And religious communities are doing just that – providing a safe, inspiring, vibrant community in which all of their members can practice faith.

“It’s a very exciting moment in synagogue design,” said Mary Burnham, a founding partner at Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects (MBB), in a press announcement for the unveiling of the Eli M. Black Lifelong Learning Center, at Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. “Contemporary congregations want physical environments that are inclusive and accessible, and that speak to current values in an aesthetically sophisticated way. Our goal is to use traditional symbols in modern forms, creating spaces that serve a full range of users and congregation activities while conveying a deep connection to spirituality.”
TheEli M. Black Lifelong Learning Center, completed by MBB Architects, is a reimagining of a 1912 neo-Renaissance townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, “serving as an art-infused, inspiring educational facility for the Park Avenue Synagogue community.”
Ms. Burnham and Judaic artist Amy Reichert, friends since graduate school, have “come together on collaborative projects for some of New York’s most prominent synagogues, integrating art and architecture to create new learning opportunities and flexible, spiritually rich spaces that resonate with today’s audiences.”
Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects’ work in the design of religious institutions is exceptional, providing a reference point for how religious communities view their worship, gathering and support spaces, and how they want those spaces to look as younger generations take on leadership roles.

We spoke with Sara Grant, principal at MBB Architects, regarding the project:
“It’s a growing and very vibrant community, and they had outgrown some of their existing spaces. Our goal was to add space, but also make the space work better to support the full range of congregants – including both the elderly and young people with families.”
“The building was originally a residential site, and then an independent school building. We thought a lot about how to take a residentially scaled building and make it into an institutionally scaled building. The project required us to be very creative in planning out where some of the more critical experiential moments were going to happen. We located the chapel on the second floor because that level had the tallest existing floor-to-ceiling height. We also focused on making the glassy stairwell a point of reference. The challenge was to figure out how you go about stitching together these spaces to make them work together, and about creating those larger experiences for the congregants.”
“It was an intentional choice to keep it very modern and fresh. We wanted to give the warmth of traditional religious details, but it also keeps its relevance. We reused or recontextualized many things they already had in some form, repositioning some of the historical fabric or relighting them, for example. We went about re-curating them to better show the meaning of each, giving them new relevance.”
Below, the Eli M. Black Lifelong Learning Center project description is a great read; we encourage you to read about this space and to consider how worship and other religious support spaces fit into the fabric of our larger communities.


Eli M. Black Lifelong Learning Center
“Designed by MBB (Murphy Burnham and Buttrick Architects), Park Avenue Synagogue has reconstructed a seven-story townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to serve as a learning center for the synagogue community.”

“The elegant and highly functional solution creates a bright, modern setting behind the building’s landmark façade, with extensive use of glass and wood as well as integrated artwork designed in collaboration with Amy Reichert, a Chicago-based designer of Judaica. The expansion of learning spaces for the conservative congregation, which has grown from about 1,400 member families to 1,700 over the last decade, accommodates growth in its educational, cultural and spiritual offerings for children, teens, adults and elderly members.

The full gut renovation of the 17,400 square foot, 1912 Neo-Renaissance building – originally designed by Arthur C. Jackson and most recently the home of an independent school – realigns the floor levels and interior circulation for its new uses. Large and small classrooms and meeting halls, a chapel, and a rooftop terrace and garden present highly flexible, multi-use spaces with oak wood detailing and oak cabinets for storage of supplies as well as furniture sets of different scales. The building hosts morning, afternoon and evening classes, carefully choreographed to accommodate all ages and users.
From its spacious lobby with a custom layered-glass wall installation, visitors pass through full-height glass and metal partitions to a central stairway with glass guardrails, which opens to each level and is flooded with daylight from a large skylight above. Open and inviting, the circulation spine reinforces a sense of community and, with its thematic installations at each mid-landing of stained-glass windows created for the synagogue in 1954 by artist Adolph Gottlieb, alludes to congregation’s rich history. A wood ceiling element wraps from the lobby into the stairs and to the chapel on the second floor, drawing visitors within.
Along one side of the hallways on each floor are art friezes with Reichert’s selections of some 200 artworks inspired by the Torah, which draw from historic and modern masterpieces organized by themes related to each book of the text. The values of the synagogue are also integrated in the translucent resin panels embedded with fabric in the lobby, recalling the traditional tallit, or prayer shawl. Custom liturgical furnishings include a new ark and lectern in the chapel, which are designed in a modern language that references geometric motifs from the synagogue’s main sanctuary on 87thStreet.

Designed for easy navigation and to make maximum use of the new space to serve diverse users of all ages, the new learning center is fully accessible. Doorposts hold two mezuzahs each, at different heights, accessible for younger occupants and wheelchair users. Learning takes place indoors and also outdoors on two terrace areas. A large basement with resilient finishes and a colorful acoustic soffit surround offers a place for young children to play. New restrooms and a pantry are located within easy reach, and administrative offices are embedded in the building’s upper floors to support the educational mission and programs.
Using highly resilient materials and high-efficiency, green building systems, the renovated building is durable, sustainable and has low operating costs. Careful use of acoustic materials adds to the sense of refuge and comfort within, and WiFi and audiovisual systems are seamlessly integrated into the spaces.

Resulting from a four-year capital campaign, the Eli M. Black Lifelong Learning Center is the first component of a multiphase building program that will allow the Park Avenue Synagogue to launch ‘new program initiatives, a re-envisioned curriculum in its Congregational School, and a fresh take on familiar worship events,’ says Beryl Chernov, the synagogue’s executive director.”

Notable features include:
>An expansive, custom wall installation in the large entry lobby, with layered resin panels and cutouts featuring messages in both Hebrew and English.
>A new central stair and circulation spine featuring thematic installations of mid-century stained glass works by the artist Adolph Gottlieb, paired with quotes chosen by congregation leaders. The inviting, glassy stair forms a centerpiece of the Eli M. Black Center, drawing visitors through the building and encouraging reflection with the artwork at each landing.
>Mosaic wall friezes that aid wayfinding. Keyed to the Torah’s five books, each of the Eli M. Black Center’s five floors offers a frieze composed of classical artworks with specific references to stories from the Torah. Using imagery rather than text ensures the messages reach a broad audience, especially children without strong reading skills.
>Flexible liturgical furniture, including a Torah Ark and reading table seamlessly integrated into the architecture of chapel space. Dramatic and immersive when open for prayer services, these elements disappear when not in use, facilitating educational and social activities.
>Landscaped rooftop available to congregants for social gathering and also celebration of the week-long Jewish festival Sukkot, which requires a s temporary hut called a sukkah, designed and constructed according to strict rules and topped with branches and often autumnal harvest or Judaic themed details.”